– Kath Gannaway
OBITUARY
Jan Cameron
Born: 1 December, 1946
Died: 16 May, 2006
JUST before she died, Jan Cameron returned to her home in Warburton.
“She came up on a Sunday. Neighbours had lit the fire, doors and windows were open … she was so thrilled to be back in the valley,” her friend, Sister Kathleen Murphy, said.
Jan Cameron moved to Warburton in 1997 – not a long time to establish the strong and loving connections she so clearly did with the people who became part of her life.
Born in 1946 at Canterbury, Jan Archibald grew up in the suburbs of Melbourne.
The vitality, passion, sense of adventure and warmth which so many of her friends spoke of at a celebration of her life, held in Warburton on 27 May, were characteristic right throughout her life.
“As Jan emerged from energetic teenager to determined young woman, so did her taste for a slice of life and expectation of the pace at which it should be lived,” her brother, Grant Archibald, said. Described by Mr Archibald as “a social girl who considered herself a lot more bohemian than North Balwyn had to offer”, Jan became a teacher and travelled Europe with friends – opening up a world of European history, culture and tradition which flavoured the rest of her life.
“Jan approached much of life as a contest. She firmly believed you were here to make a difference,” Mr Archibald said.
This family ‘snap shot’ gives an insight into why in almost every tribute, passion, vitality and inspiration were a recurring theme.
“She was passionate about community, justice and women’s issues, and was very involved with justice for asylum seekers and issues of peace,” Sister Kathleen said, recalling a peace meditation held on the banks of the Yarra River one Good Friday at sunset.
Jan was a founding member of the Yarra Ranges Film Society and her good friend and fellow member, Dagmar Limp, said she was a valued and much-loved member.
“The thing that Jan could do which was really magic was that she could walk into a room and you knew she was there. She made everyone feel fantastic and special.
“She gave you encouragement. Her ambition in life was to get rid of the negative stuff and focus on the positive,” she said.
Ms Limp said this was particularly the case with young people.
“When the Youth Theatre was formed and were struggling after about a year, she took it upon herself to help them. She put some money in a hat and collected from everyone else to keep it going,” she said.
Another friend, Vin Chattaway, spoke of Jan’s courage and love of life.
“The world seems colder and less cheerful without her presence,” he said.
Warburton was fortunate to have Jan Cameron for the last decade of her full and generous life.
There was much in between. Strong connections with her siblings, cousins and their families, marriage to Ken in 1975, step-mum and later step-gran to Ken’s children and grandchild, Melissa.
‘The light of her life’, son Tom, was born in 1977.
Jan’s sister, Cathryn Gullifer, said Jan had been beautifully embraced by people in the valley and felt lucky to have such wonderful neighbours, friends and family.
“She was made to feel at home in the community. She reached out, but so many people reached out to her to help her settle and to look after her through her illness.”
